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Tino Lovrić

Valentina Markasović, Associate Professor

Introduction to English and American Literature

8 Dec 2022

The Prominent Presence of Racism in Ralph Ellison's ˝Battle Royal˝

This essay highlights the numerous signs of racism present in the story ˝Battle

Royal˝by Ellison. These signs are interpreted and explained in detail.

The first clear symbol of racism is the fact the main character, along with numerous

other African Americans, has to compete in a battle royal, where they fight each other for

money. The white men are spectating it and enjoying what they see, at the expense of African

Americans' pain. This depicts how white people saw those of other races as inferior and

playthings for them to do whatever they want to with. They can do this because historically

white people are always in power and they use this fact maliciously to their advantage. If it is

white men that are fighting for their lives, actions are taken, but when it is African Americans

that are doing so, nobody cares and in fact, they are encouraged to keep on doing so.

Moreover, there is another symbol of racism in the story, which is the electrified rug.

After the battle itself, a competition is held to see who can collect as many coins as possible.

The African Americans all rush to grab the coins, but as they do so, they have to pass through

an electrified rug that shocks and inflicts major pain on them. In the end, it is revealed that

the coins were fake and contain an advertisement for an automobile. Here it can be seen that

even when people of color are given a chance to gain something, it is through a very

treacherous path that may leave them with lasting effects on their well-being. Even so, they

will persevere through the pain, because they realize this is one of the only few chances they
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may ever get. However, even if they do succeed in the end, it can be all for naught when they

realize the reward at the end is a yet another fraud, nullifying all their hard word.

The final piece of racism present is the story is the main character's speech at the end.

The speech he performs is obviously conformed to what the white men want him to say, and

when he makes a single mistake that they don't like, he is immediately threatened. After

finishing the speech, he is given a scholarship to a college made specifically for black people.

This shows how the only way African Americans can move up in society is by doing what

they are told to do. Any slight deviations will result in severe punishment and loss in

reputation. Even then, the rewards they receive are obviously not of equal magnituted as the

rewards white people would receive for the same amount of effort. It is a form of control;

give the bare minimum to keep them satisfied and willing to keep doing what they want. This

principle can be seen in the following quote: ˝´To Whom It May Concern,´ I intoned. ´Keep

This Nigger-Boy Running´˝ (Ellison 242).

In short, it is a fact that African Americans have to work twice as hard to receive the

same acknowledgement that white people do, and even when they do, they are still seen

through a lens of skepticism and many do not respect them as much as they should. This is

especially the case when they notice any sort of resistance to systematic racism from African

Americans. Ellison sees the situation around him and uses all three of these symbols to depict

the gruesome reality of people of color in American society.

Works Cited

Ellison, Ralph. ˝Battle Royal.˝ Literature: A Portable Anthology, 5th Edition, edited by Janet

E. Gardner et al., Bedford/ St Martin's, 2020, pp. 230-242.